Table tennis board



Nov. 6, 1956 H. z. FlNEsToNE TABLE TENNIS BOARD Filed March 25, 1954 TABLE TENNIS BOARD Harry Z. Finestone, Revere, Mass., assigner to Jacob S. Cohen, doing business as American Toy Produets Co., Beverly, Mass.

Application March 25, 1954, Serial No. 415,635

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-36) This invention relates to a folding table tennis board having a net supported by brackets secured to the edges of the table at the joint in such a way that when the table is folded and unfolded the net and its supports are not disturbed but are always in place ready for use when the table is opened out. The invention as illustrated is embodied in a board of relatively small size designed to be used in places and under circumstances which would prohibit the use of a standard sized board or table for table tennis, but the invention also applies to full sized boards or table, with or without legs, for table tennis. For example, the board hereinafter described is light in weight and can be readily supported on a bed or on the knees of seated players, so that it is particularly suited for use by invalids. A ball by which the game is played is preferably but not necessarily tethered to the net frame or to the board itself so as always to be within reach. On the drawing- Figure 1 is aperspective view of a tennis table game board embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded fragmentary detail, on an enlarged scale, of a combined hinge and support for the net frame;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan View of the members shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 5 but showing the board in its folded position.

The board illustrated on the drawing has two parts 10 and 12 of similar size and shape. The usual lines 14, may be provided, if desired, to indicate the courts. The parts 10 and 12 when in the same plane form a rectangle having dimensions which may be roughly proportional to those of a standard tennis court. The parts 10 and 12 are joined by hinge elements one of which is shown in Figure 2, This consists of an upright plate 16 to the lower States Patent O corners of which two short channel pieces 13 and 20 are pivotally attached at 22 and 24 respectively. Each of the channel pieces ts over a portion of the margin of one of the board parts 10 and 12 near mutually adjacent corners 26 and 2S thereof. These channel pieces are securely attached to these corners of the board parts by any suitable means such as rivets 30 which extend through holes 31 in the channel pieces. A couple of loops 32 are struck up from the plate 16 and are arranged to receive and support a wire frame 34 which consists of a horizontal portion extending across the board and two vertical legs tightly tted into the loops 32. The structure illustrated in Figure 2 and hereinbefore described is duplicated at the other side of the board so that both ends of the frame member 34 are supported by vertical plates 16. A net 36 is attached to the frame 34 and is supported thereby. A ball 33 is tethered by a string 46 attached to any convenient part of the apparatus such as the frame member 34.

When the parts 10 and 12 are opened out into the same plane, the plates 16 support Ithe net 36 in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the board. The net does not have to be touched when the board is folded up but is supported between the parts as shown in Figure 6.

The game board is preferably made of suitable size and light-weight materials so as to be easily handled and to be supported on a bed or elsewhere for use by invalids such as paraplegics.

I claim:

A game board comprising two rectangular sections, two hinge devices connecting said sections `at mutually adjacent corners thereof, each said hinge device consisting of an upright plate with a pair of struck-up loops arranged one over the other and two channel members pivotally attached to the lower corners of the plate, means securing said channel members respectively to corner margins of said board sections, a net frame consisting of a heavy wire having a horizontal portion extending across said board and a vertical portion at each end engaged in and supported by the struck-up loops of the corresponding hinge device, and ya net attached to said net frame.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 177,711 Hall May 23, 1876 957,266 Snow May 10, 1910 1,559,953 Furman Nov. 3, 1925 2,042,984 Fritz June 2, 1936 2,545,064 Alch Mar. 13, 1951 2,569,007 Klyce Sept. 25, 1951 2,595,725 Sutton May 6, 1952 

